Pokemon League Masters: Karen's Story
by ukfiddler
Summary: There are a lot of characters in the Pokemon games that we just take for granted. But have you ever wondered what some of them went through to get where they are? This is the story of Karen of the Elite Four-Her Pokemon journey. Find out what she had to do to make it as one of Kanto's most powerful trainers: the adventures, the friendships and some enormous sacrifices...


"Karen, dear, it's time for tea!" Her mum called up from the kitchen.

"Coming," The girl sighed, carefully placing her Wii remote down on her bed. Karen Summers was a small, shy rosy-cheeked girl who had lived her whole life peacefully with her mother in a small village in Unova. Her friends had been messaging her all day on Nimbasachat and, being the polite young lady she was always described as, she hadn't had a moment to herself as she had been replying to them and online battling since this morning. As she plodded down the stairs she thought about the accusations a certain group of her 'friends' had made against her online:

Ariana: Oh hey babes, come to talk about that loser of a Pokemon you have?

Koga: Ariana! Don't!

Ariana: Why not? Lol, she probably can't even read this coz she's been too busy crying her eyes out about that little conversation we had before…XD

Petrel: Oh yeah, the one about her being too old to have 'big dreams'?

Ariana: Yeah lol

Petrel: HahahahaXD

Koga: Guys, she's been reading this you know…

Petrel: Who cares? She'll probably be pretending to be tough, like us :p

Ariana: Stupid momma's girl, one day she'll realise that sometimes you have to be naughty to get what you want…MUAHAHAHAHAHA XD

Petrel: lol

'Ariana was right in one way,' the girl thought, 'I AM a little momma's girl who is just polite and selfless to everyone…maybe sometimes that really ISN'T the right way to go to get what you want…'

'And hey, who cares about dreams anyway? They don't come true.' But deep down inside her, Karen knew the SHE cared, and that mattered.

As Karen was eating her tea, her mum told her that she had some 'exiting news'.

"Young Professor Cedric phoned me just now and said you've been summoned by someone important for a special task. He wouldn't say any more but he told me you've gotta warp to the Entralink tomorrow morning. You'd better get ready."

"Okay," Karen said, turning to go back upstairs and trying to look exited. But on the inside, she was terrified. 'What if there're scary-strong trainers out there who want to battle me? Oshawott's not ready for battling yet!' Karen had obtained her starter Pokemon from Professor Cedric Juniper over a month ago now, but the first time she had used Oshawott to battle a young boy, he had fainted and she had been sick with worry while she waited for him to recover. She hadn't battled with him since then, because her tender heart couldn't bear to see her friend in pain.

'Well, I guess I'll just have to go and try and get back home where it's safe as soon as I can,' she thought to herself as she packed up lots of snuggly winter clothes for the day ahead.

'Wow, the Entralink looks really different in winter,' Karen thought to herself as she stood, shivering, (despite the duffel coat, hat and thick woollen scarf she was wearing) in front of a Pokemon laboratory in the enormous clearing, the very heart of Unova. There were a couple of other young trainers huddled together to keep out the cold, chatting in hushed voices, but none of them paid her any attention. Karen gently hugged her Oshawott close to her face and moved towards the trees at the edge of the snowy clearing, hoping the teens wouldn't notice that she was all alone. As she waited for something to happen, she saw a few other teenagers come and go from the lab, including her Ariana, Petrel and Koga, but she had receded into the shadows so as not to be noticed by them. She had used to be best friends with them, especially Ariana, but although as Karen grew up, she had stayed pretty much the same shy, quiet girl she had always been, her other friends had grown more and more troublesome, flaky and moody like most other teens.

It seemed like forever until a deep man's voice finally called her name.

'Karen Summers! Please advance to the laboratory to receive your Pokedex!' She stepped shyly out of the shadows and slipped through the glassy doors of the lab. _Summers, what an ironic name to have in this weather_, Karen thought as she brushed melting snowflakes from her nose.

Inside it was all done out in white, giving a very strikingly clean appearance. There were sinks and worktables lined up against the walls and lots of posters of _The Pokemon Anatomy_ and _The 500 species of Pokemon sighted so far. _On a big wide table in the middle of the room, lots of strange-looking devices in bright colours were neatly stacked up in columns. However, Karen didn't have much time to admire the cleanliness or organisation of the place, because the same deep man's voice suddenly spoke from a chair in front of a wide computer screen.

'It's great to meet you, Karen. My name's professor Rowan, I'm a Pokemon professor from the Sinnoh region.' He stood up to face her and shook her hand. 'Now, I know it's a bit sudden, but I assume you know why you have been summoned here?'

Karen nodded, 'I was told it was about a Pokedex or something, sir.'

'That's right, you have been chosen to go on a journey with your Pokemon to travel and complete the Pokedex.' He walked over to the table and picked up one of the brightly-coloured devices. 'This is a Pokedex,' he said handing it over to Karen. She pressed a button on the side and the lid flipped up with a cute little ringing noise. A list of empty entries was displayed on the screen and she scrolled down a long way to the end of it.

'597,' Karen said in awe. 'That's a lot of Pokemon…and I've got to find all the Pokemon possible and register them in this Pokedex?' She had never been on a journey by without her mother and she seriously doubted herself already. 'How long will that take, sir?'

Professor Rowan chuckled, 'It will take you precisely however long it takes you to travel the whole world.' Then he smiled kindly 'But I can tell you're not a very adventurous person, Karen. That is why I would like to introduce you to my apprentice, Jasmine.'

A small girl in a white lab coat appeared on the balcony of the second floor and leaned excitedly over the wooden rails.

'Hey prof, I heard my name?'

Professor Rowan rolled his eyes. 'Come down here and meet Karen before you fall of the balcony, Jasmine!' The girl turned and raced down the staircase, her mousey-brown hair flying out behind her. She embraced Jasmine in a friendly hug and introduced herself.

'I'm the prof's assistant- Jasmine, and I'm gonna accompany you on your Pokemon journey!'

'Wow, really? You're sure you want to?' Karen was generally impressed by Jasmine's decision to leave everything just to help her. 'Thanks Jasmine, it means a lot.'

'That's fine, I'm sooooo exited! I've never exactly been out of Unova before, but I have been on errands with Professor Rowan. I roughly know which towns have gyms in them and stuff.'

'Gyms?' Karen hoped Jasmine didn't expect to get her working out 6 hours a day.

'Oh, gyms are places where you take your Pokemon to train and test their strength. They are each run by a gym leader, the best trainer in the city where the gym is.'

'Oh, I thought you were expecting me to work out!' She looked at Jasmine and they both laughed.

'I can see you two are going to have a lot of fun on you journey! I won't keep you any longer but just remember to always try your best and to never give up, because even when something seems impossible, you'd be amazed at how wrong you can be.'

'Thanks a lot for teaching me for so long, Prof,' Jasmine looked truly upset about having to leave him and Karen was touched by the strong bond between the apprentice and mentor. _Why don't I have any friendships like that? _'I'll make you proud. I promise.'

'You'd better,' The professor clapped the young girl on the shoulder. 'Now get out there and become the masters you were born to be!'

The two girls turned and exited the pristine building. Outside the snow had stopped abruptly and a striking ray of sunlight streamed into the frosty clearing. A rainbow hung in the sky in the direction they were headed, as if it was encouraging them forwards, brightening their path. This looked like a promising start.


End file.
